LoZ: Fourswords, Clones vs Clones
by Aviecat
Summary: After receiving almost no credit for assisting our four heroes during their final showdown with Vaati the Wind Mage, Shadow decides that he wants his own friends. Or rather, his own clones... My first Fan Fiction. :D
1. Chapter 1

My first fan fiction. Go easy on me, yes? I never even imagined I'd ever write a fan fiction, but I've had this idea swirling around in my thoughts for quite a while, and after reading over a few other Zelda fan fictions, I figured, _Why not_? So yeah, I'm not really trying to make it sound good. This is really for my amusement. I'll be using the default nicknames and personalities from the Fourswords Plus Manga, as well as a few OC's of mine. Please review, and be nice. :D (And on another note, this takes place after the events of Fourswords Plus. Refer to the manga if you haven't already, although I'm assuming that you either already have or don't care to by this point.)

**I do not own the Legend of Zelda franchise. LoZ is a property of Nintendo, and the Fourswords Plus Manga belongs to Himekawa Akira. Copyright, copyright, yadda yadda, and all that other jazz that'll keep me from getting sued. D;**

**Chapter One**

Hyrule. For generations, it has been blessed with rolling hills and rushing waters. Here, the sun gleams brightly, and its people live in harmony.

But of course, not all lands are perfect. It's hard to believe that just six months ago, darkness clouded the sky. The land was in ruins, and Hyrule's mighty, prideful castle was brought down to its knees, overwhelmed with misfortune. That was on the fateful day that a young boy wielded the legendary Foursword for the first time, and the wind mage, Vaati, finally broke loose from his eternal prison. But before this shadowy figure could consume the land in a never-ending darkness permanently, the young boy stepped forth, multiplied by four. Alongside his new clones, this boy - named Link - was able to restored Hyrule to its former glory and once again seal away the evil Vaati. With light returning to Hyrule, the boy returned the Foursword to its pedestal, allowing his clones to come together as one again. This was the end of his - or rather, their - adventure.

And during those months of Hyrule's slow rebuilding, Link began to realize how close he'd come to his clones. Yes, they were all the same person, and of course, they would always be a part of him, but he couldn't help but miss their company. Red, the optimist, was no longer around to make naïve observations, nor jump around in his cheery, perky way. And Blue, hotheaded and somewhat vain, was no longer able to clobber Red with his Hammer or make sharp comments. Even the absence of Vio, who was self-possessed and often to himself, was painfully noticeable. Here in reality, Link was treated as a hero. Many people in Hyrule regarded him with respect, and his friendship with his childhood friend, Princess Zelda, had grown impossibly stronger.

But… this loneliness was eating him up. The lightheartedness of the bond Link had held with his own clones was fading into the past: A kite that had escaped from between his fingers and was disappearing behind a cloud of fond yesterdays. And once you find a lost kite, it's already too late. The kite is stuck in a tree, far from your reach. Or the kite will have a hole in it, never to soar again.

But now Link was grasping firmly onto that kite. Or rather, the Foursword, as he drew it from its pedestal once again. With the seal on Vaati's soul renewed and strong, Link was able to draw the Foursword safely without darkness lashing out again. And the feeling of assured safety is such a grand feeling to behold, especially if it is accompanied with the happiness of reuniting with your old friends again.

So now Link and his three other look-alikes reside alongside each other in the steadily rehabilitating land of Hyrule. All is good, and surely, the future can only look bright for these four heroes.

**Hah. **_**Heroes. **_**A title that I never gained despite my huge role in the resealing of Vaati the Wind Mage.**

Beyond the light's rays, far away in a parallel dimension known only as the Shadow World, resides a few lonely citizens. Amongst them is the devilish Shadow Link: a mirror image of the Light World's renown tunic-wearing hero, Green Link.

But Shadow does have a point. Indeed, if it wasn't for his last-minute betrayal of Vaati at the Sky Tall Tower, our four heroes would have never been able to defeat the violent wind mage. You haven't received very much credit, have you?

**Betraying Vaati isn't exactly smiled upon up here in the Shadow World. It's nice to know that some people respect me in the Light World, but what's the point? If I set foot in the Light World, I'd literally burn to ashes. Pah!, like I need to be called a "hero" anyways. It's best to keep the title of "villain", I suppose.**

That must be a real shame, receiving almost no credit for what you did back there to assist the Fourswordsmen. But… didn't you do it out of the goodness of your heart?

**Goodness? Me? You don't know who you're talking to; I'm a **_**shadow**_**. Being a good little hero might be admirable in your realm, but here in the Shadow World, good is bad. Bad is good. But… perhaps I did have a soft spot for those fellas back there…**

Maybe the real reason you're angry is because you're jealous.

**Jealous? Of **_**what?**_

Well, think about it: The Fourswordsmen have received all of the credit, and you've only been viewed as a villain. And on top of that, they have each other, and you're all alone here in the darkness. Doesn't that make you feel a bit lonely, too?

**Perhaps, but I don't need the company of those thickheaded light-dwellers anyway. I've got my own friends… here… in the Shadow Realm…**

Oh? And who are they?

**What is this? 20 Questions? I don't need no stinkin' narrator butting in on my life! Now leave me be..**

Truthfully, the Shadow Link was incredibly lonely.

**SHUT UP!**

Erm, right. Moving on…

-x-

Shadow was glaring down at the shadowy orb that was levitating over his lap. Well, he'd stopped glaring a few minutes ago. He now rested his chin on the back of his hand, sitting cross-legged, alone in the Shadow World.

Alone.

Burning within the flames of the dark orb on his lap was a view of the Light World. Through the streets of Hyrule Castle Town, four brightly-colored figures were racing in all directions.

Blue was wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his free hand. In the other, he was clutching onto a squirming cucco. "I think I've got the last one." he breathed out, dumping the fattened bird into the pen from which it had escaped.

A pretty young woman, garbed in the classic farmer girl attire, clasped her hands together and quickly ducked into a flurry of thankful bows. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! I just wish I was a little quicker. I should be able to round up my own cuccos when they break out of the pen like that. I'm really sorry I had to ask you four nice boys to do it for me!"

Green, Red, Blue, and Vio all laughed and assured her that it was fine and that they were glad to help. And just like that, they were heroes. Again. As always.

Together.

Shadow rolled his eyes and sprawled out onto his back on the cold, hard bed of which he was forced to toss and turn in all night. Back before he'd betrayed Vaati, Shadow was one of the highest ranking shadows in his realm. Now that he had a single nasty mark on his records, he'd been reset to the lowest of the low. Cheaper than garbage. As he laid down on his back, the orb from which he'd been keeping track of the four heroes dispelled on its own.

_This anger that seems to never be quenched within me… it all started with those four. Am I really jealous of them? Is that what it is?_ He frowned. _I have plenty of allies in the Shadow World. Ugh… well, I _used _to, at least. But friendship is nothing. Unnecessary. Unneeded. An utter waste of time._ Shadow flipped over to his stomach, wincing at how stone-hard lumpy his bed was. _But it looks so wonderful…_

Shadow quickly shook the thought from his mind. What? Was he becoming a softy now? Power and respect were the only things he needed. But, now that he'd lost both, he sure wasn't going to sink down to a light-dweller's level. Right?

-x-

_I'm mad. I'm insane. But… I'm going to do this. _Shadow Link's fingers twitched with anticipation. He'd been told that there was a negative form of everything in the Light World here in the Shadow World. And by everything, there really was everything. For now, he stood before a lonely, mossy pedestal. Dark, discolored trees that were twisted and withered in every way weakly reached towards the cloudy, depressing sky all around him. The grass was dead and curled vilely. The atmosphere was heavy. And every sinister feature of the forest that loomed all around Shadow seemed to all come together and compliment the eager, restless gleam of the Dark Foursword in the pedestal before him. So it hadn't been a myth. The Dark Foursword was real. And it was calling to him.

The adrenaline and the impulsive acts and desires that had led Shadow into this dark sanctuary continued to urge him forward. He was being magnetized towards this dark blade. And frankly, he didn't feel the need to oppose these push factors.

He quickly paced over to the pedestal and rested his hands on the sword's intimidating hilt. It glared back up at him, challenging the shadow warrior. Shadow accepted the unspoken challenge and gave a light tug. The sword slipped right out of its pedestal a lot easier than Shadow imagined it would. Or maybe that was the adrenaline that was still dominating his body.

The Splitting itself was an indescribable experience. His body burned with a bizarre sensation that could not be identified as being either icy cold or burning hot. Shadow didn't feel like he was literally being split up or cloned in any way. In fact, he felt almost compressed. Suffocating within himself. Or all versions of himself. He began to wonder whether or not Green Link had felt the same when he himself had picked up the Foursword. If he had, Shadow almost respected him by this point. It's one thing to experience this twisting, tossing sensation once, but willingly doing it a second time? Perhaps Green was mad. Like Shadow.

_Hah… That makes two of us._

When Shadow regained his balance and could once again feel the ground beneath his feet, it took him half a second to realize that his eyes were closed and that the sudden darkness that had been surrounding him wasn't the eerie atmosphere of the forest. He was looking down at his hands. He was in one piece, and so was the Dark Foursword that now had a gleaming, dark jewel engraved within its hilt. It no longer seemed to be glaring a challenge at him. It almost seemed to be accepting Shadow as its new master. Slowly, the gem within the Dark Foursword's hilt discontinued to glow darkly.

Shadow glanced back up at his surroundings. He was still in the forest. He was still in the Sanctuary. But most importantly, he wasn't alone anymore. Before the Shadow Link, three mirror images of himself, all with the same, glimmering red eyes, stared intently at one another.

In unison, they gave sinister smiles.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, sorry if that first chapter sounded a bit boring at first. I think the story might be getting good from this point on. We'll see. Oh, and now I begin to introduce my OC's: Shadow's clones! :3 So… enjoy? ^_^

**I do not own the Legend of Zelda. LoZ is a property of Nintendo, and the Fourswords Plus Manga belongs to Himekawa Akira. Everything else is entirely fan made, and technically belongs to me, I think…**

**Chapter Two**

When we left off, Shadow had just drawn the Dark Foursword. He now has come to realize the existence of the three other shadow swordsmen who now surround him.

There's a scrawny pink one who's a tad shorter than the others. Slight amusement is etched onto his face. Besides him, a baffled yellow clone is glancing around quickly, taking in all of their assorted appearances. And finally, there's a sickly white-wearing clone. His hair is snowy, his skin is pale, and the only non-white part of his appearance are the blazing red eyes that are overshadowed by his messy bangs.

Shadow grinned. "It worked!"

"The Dark Foursword…!" exclaimed the pink one.

"…has split us into four as well!" cheered the yellow one.

The white one was staring down at the sword in his hands emotionlessly. "So… now what?"

Shadow frowned. "Huh… nicknames, I suppose. Since I'm the original, I'll be known as Shadow, the leader!" He sheathed his new sword in a showy fashion.

The pink one gave him a dark glare. "What makes you think you're the leader?"

"Because. Those loser Fourswordsmen know me as 'Shadow' already, and you yourself don't look anything close to a 'Shadow', so therefore, I must be the original. Besides, you look like more of a 'Pink'."

The pink one glanced down at his clothing, and then began to jump up and down with rage. "H-Hey! Just because I've got the girly color doesn't mean that I automatically get called by the girly name!" He stopped jumping. "If anyone calls me Pink, you're a dead man! I don't care that you're my clones or anything. From now on, call me Fuchsia."

The yellow one tilted his head to the side. "But you look more pink than fuchsia to me. And Fuchsia sounds a bit more girly, if you ask me…"

"Well I didn't! And Fuchsia doesn't sound more girly. It sounds more fancier!"

"You mean 'more fancy'?" grinned the yellow one.

The pink clone quickly tackled the yellow one to the ground. "That's it! You're already getting on my nerves!"

Shadow had to step over and pull Fuchsia off of the unnamed clone. "Cool it, Fuchsia! Sheesh, you guys are already starting to act like Green and Blue! Or Red and Blue… or Blue and Vio. Come to think of it, Blue seems to have had a violent argument with everyone he's come in contact with..."

Fuchsia crossed his arms and grumbled something more to himself. "…don't compare me to that blue loser…" was the only audible part.

The yellow one sat up from where he'd been tackled to the ground and shook the dizziness out of his head. "So does that mean that I should be Yellow Link?"

Shadow shrugged. "If you really want to be."

Yellow grinned happily. "Then I shall contribute all that I possibly can to my clones!"

"…Which is not very much." murmured Fuchsia just loud enough for Yellow to barely hear.

Yellow's sunny smile faded and he glared icily at Fuchsia with such passionate anger that Shadow had to wonder whether or not this was the same person that had been sitting before him moments ago. But the flame in Yellow's eyes quickly diminished and his kind smile was reborn as he met Shadow's gaze. Shadow could only raise an intrigued brow at him.

By then, Fuchsia had already made his way curiously over to the white-wearing Link. "What about you? Wadda you wanna be called?"

The snowy clone looked down at his feet. "I… whatever you wish for me to be called…"

"You could be Snowball!" piped in Yellow.

"Shut up, Yellow Freak! He's not a cat!" snapped Fuchsia back.

"But come to think of it," said Yellow, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "he looks almost albino. You know, the white hair and the red eyes?"

"I think he has red eyes because we all do." said Shadow.

"It doesn't matter! He could be the Albino Link! Or Albi for short!" smiled Yellow, clapping his hands together at his own brilliance.

The newly named Albi lowered his gaze. "Well actually…. I was thinking more of a…"

"So now that we all have names, what do we do now?" cut in Fuchsia. Albi's opinion was never brought up again.

"That's easy." said Shadow. "Now that we're all assembled, we can make ourselves known to the Fourswordsmen and take them on as rivals."

"That sounds fun!" responded Yellow.

Albi said, "But… since we're shadows… how would we get their attention? Because… the light… it's dangerous…"

"Hey wait a minute! How do we get their attention if we can't go out into the Light World? Won't it, like, hurt us or something?" Fuchsia asked suddenly. Albi only put his head down.

"Perhaps we could bring them to us?" This was Yellow speaking.

Shadow said, "That's a good idea, but how would we do that?"

Yellow grinned cheerfully, but a hint of darkness resided within his eyes. "It's easy, really…"

-x-

"Zelda?"

"Yes, Link?"

"Erm, today is a special day, you know…"

"Yes, it's the anniversary of the day we first became friends."

"Oh. Wow… you also remembered…?"

Zelda's eyes twinkled with glint of the fond memories they'd beheld in the past. "Why would I forget? It's only the day I met the greatest person in my life." Her smile was sweeter than honey, her cheeks a perfect rosy shade.

Green had been sorta hoping that Zelda had forgotten the occasion so that he could have impressed her with his considerate memory. But that was a silly wish. Zelda would never forget such an important part of her life.

Green took in a deep breath. "Well, since it's such a big occasion, I brought you a-."

"ZELDAAAA!"

The princess looked up and Green glanced over his shoulder. His clone, Red, was charging towards them at a no doubtably sugar-fueled speed. In his hands, he held a bouquet of freshly-picked flowers from the fields just outside of Hyrule. They exploded with vibrant colors.

Red rushed up to the princess and offered up the bouquet. "Zelda! Today is the day we first met, so I decided to pick you a bunch of flowers! I picked only the prettiest ones!"

"Oh, Red Link!" Zelda brought the flowers up to her nose. "They're lovely, thank you!" She embraced the red clone with her free arm.

Meanwhile, Green glared coldly at his most innocent copy. They were separate people now, but since they'd all been as one once, they all shared the same memories. Green's icy gaze at Red quickly diminished when Zelda caught sight of him. "Link, what were you about to say just now? You said you'd also brought me something…?"

Green fumbled with the chain of the golden locket he'd purchased for her with all of his money (and a rupee or two from Blue's wallet). _At least, _he thought. _I'm the only version of me that still has the honor of being called just "Link" by Zelda._ "Actually, I have." Green began to pull the locket into view. "I remember you'd always talked about them while we were younger, so I got you a-."

"Zelda! Hey!" Green groaned and Red pulled away from his embrace with Zelda as Blue made his way into the throne room. He approached the princess, slightly out of breath. "I finally finished it!" He pulled out a piece of folded paper from the pocket in his tunic and handed it to her. "Gave me a few headaches to make, but I did it just for you, Zelda."

Zelda unfolded the piece of paper. She gasped. "Blue Link! It's lovely!" Sketched on the sheet of paper was a beautifully illustrated picture of the setting sun over Hyrule Field. Sitting in the arms of an ancient tree were two children: the son of a warrior, and a princess. They sat side by side, watching the oranges and the violets mixing with each other in perfect harmony.

"It's exactly as I remember it." Zelda breathed out. "I'd always wanted to see a sunset in Hyrule Field." Her eyes met with Blue's. "And then you snuck me out."

"I was a crazy kid back then, but seeing you happy was worth it, and it still is to this very day." Blue gave a wink of conceit. Green rolled his eyes.

Zelda came over to embrace him. "Blue Link, I adore it! Thank you for reviving one of my favorite memories."

"Haha, you're welcome… although it would have been a lot nicer if I had been able to make a larger painting of it. I was going to try to buy some painting supplies a few days ago, but some thief must have made off with the money in my wallet!"

Green clutched the golden locket tighter behind his back.

The two pulled away from the embrace. "It's okay." Zelda reassured Blue. "I'd love this sketch in whatever form. As long as it'll give me the same lightheartedness I felt on that day so many years ago." She turned to Green. "I'm so sorry! I got distracted again! What were you about to say, Link?"

Green frowned a bit. His golden locket wasn't going to make as big of an impression on Zelda after Blue's sap-fest. But he had to give it to her eventually.

At last, Green pulled out the locket from behind his back. He pushed it into her hand. "You always used to talk so much about lockets. You could have had the prettiest locket made just for you at any time you wanted, but you insisted that your dream was to have someone give you one themselves. A locket just for you. I've kept that in mind all these years, so ugh… I decided to give one to you as a present this year. It's not as good as Blue's gift, but…" He was suddenly pulled into a tight hug.

"You're right, Link, I've always wanted a locket to be given to me by someone special. And no one is more special to me than you, Link! So thank you for being my friend for all of these years."

Green slowly wrapped his arms around the princess in the sudden embrace he now found himself in. No one was more special to Zelda than _him? _Well, Blue certainly hadn't received a compliment like that. He now looked over the princess's shoulder at his two clones. Red was smiling sweetly at the two's embrace, but now it was Blue's turn to be rolling his eyes. Green felt… really good. Good to see that his gift had been well received. Good to be called "special". Good to be…

"Oh, Vio! Hello!" said Zelda over Green's shoulder. Green unwillingly released her from their embrace, and the princess trotted over to Green's final clone.

Vio greeted the princess with the usual gentleman's bow of respect, even though he was as close to Zelda as Green and his other clones were. "Good morning, Zelda. I presume that you are already aware of what day it is today?"

Zelda nodded. "It's the day that we first met… but this year has been quite the anniversary! I never pictured myself receiving more than one present from so many Links!" She giggled.

Vio gave a cocky half-smile. "But of course! We are all the same person, and just because we have split does not mean that we do not recall such fond, important occasions. By the way, that is a lovely locket that you have in your possession."

Zelda clutched the locket tighter in her left hand. "It is, isn't it? Link gave it to me, and Red Link gave me these flowers," she gestured at her left hand. "and the Blue Link presented me with the most lovely sketch of a sunset!" Again, she nodded her head towards the hand where she was holding both the locket and the folded piece of paper.

Vio nodded. "What thoughtful presents my counterparts have gifted you with. Unfortunately, I cannot say that my own gift is as flashy. In fact, it's a rather lazy present, to tell you the truth." He pulled a faded, thin ribbon out of his pocket. "Eight years ago, a foolish boy and a curious princess snuck out of the castle to venture throughout Castle Town. And on that day, the princess just so happened to be wearing her favorite, silky ribbons in her hair. She was proud, because she'd tied them up there all on her own. But early into their innocent antics, rain fell upon Castle Town, and the two had to retreat back into the palace. As they fled, one of the ribbons came loose from the princess's hair, and it was taken by the wind. She was greatly saddened by the loss of her favorite ribbon and began to cry once she was safely out of the rain. And later on that week, the foolish boy found that princess's ribbon in the middle of a hardening mud puddle in his backyard. He intended on washing the ribbon out for the princess before he retuned it to her, but ended up losing the hair ribbon in the process. And only recently, that foolish boy had relocated the ribbon. He saved it for this day, and I now present it to you. I've repaired any tears that were in it, and I lined it with golden thread to make it stand out more. I hope you'll even slightly appreciate this present."

The princess remained silent and didn't say a word of thanks. She only took the ribbon from Vio as it was offered to her. To the side, Blue smirked and whispered to Green, "I bet she didn't want it back."

Zelda's eyes met with Vio's. "Vio…"

"…this isn't my ribbon!" Blue whispered to Green in an impression of Zelda's voice. Green laughed along with him.

Vio nodded once to confirm that he was listening to her.

Zelda gazed back down at the ribbon that she held in her free right had, having migrated Red's bouquet over to her left hand. "Do you know why this had always been my favorite ribbon?"

"I do not."

Tears were filling her eyes. "It… it was the last thing my mother ever gave me."

Blue cursed. "Damn, I can see where this is going."

"Is that so?" Vio said to Zelda. "If I have only resurrected sour memories, then I apologize."

Zelda shook her head. "No, you've only made me happier!" Tears of joy continued to trail down her face. "I'm so glad that you decided to return my most precious possession to me, Vio! And what's better, you've even fixed it and left your own mark on it by lining it with the gold thread! Now I have the memory of two of my most precious people in my life within this ribbon!" She practically pounced on Vio in a huge bear hug. The purple-wearing clone of Link patted her shoulder affectionately. The other three clones watched with puppy eyes.

"I think Princess Zelda forgot about my present…" whined Red.

"Well, at least she's happy…" sighed Green.

Blue was red with anger. "What the heck! I was going to give her that same ribbon next year!" He stomped on the ground. "And I worked really hard on that sketch, too! I knew I should have made a larger painting of it! Shoot, the moment I find out who robbed me from my wallet, I'll…" He trailed off, and the green Link next to him didn't even want to hear what Blue had in mind.

He did, however, look up at the ceiling just in time to notice a bat-like figure that hung upside down in a shadowy corner of the throne room. It blinked back at him with its single eye, large ears twitching in small movements.

Green nudged Blue in the shoulder. "Hey Blue, you see that thing up there?"

Blue looked up at the ceiling. "What thing?"

"That… huh?" The shadowy bat was no longer in its corner. "I could have sworn…"

"Sworn what?" Vio and Zelda made their way back to the others.

Green lowered his pointing finger. "I thought I saw a… well…" He didn't want to worry the princess. He'd tell the others, just not in her presence. "It was nothing." he lied. "I'm just seeing things."

Red and Blue gave each other concerned glances. Realizing Green's desire to keep the princess from getting too involved with whatever it was he'd seen, they quickly changed the subject.

-x-

The bat returned from the swirling vortex into the Light World and clung onto Shadow's outstretched arm where it once again began to hang upside down. The bat blinked its eye once, and when it reopened, a replay of Green catching sight of the bat and looking its way appeared within it cornea.

Shadow sneered. "Bingo, he saw it. He's bound to tell the others."

"So now that we have their attention, when do we get to have fun with 'em?" Fuchsia turned to Yellow.

"Soon. We just have to lead them to where we want them." Yellow then giggled so innocently, chills ran up the other shadows' spines.

Fuchsia crossed his arms jealously. "I still can't believe that the least hardcore member of our team was able to devise such a perfect plan for those losers. I mean, once we've get 'em in our grasp…"

"…then there's nothing even that accursed Vio can do to outsmart us." Albi concluded, hate frosting his voice.

All four of them grinned vilely and broke into gales of sinister laughter. Even the silent Albi was cackling loudly. Indeed, this was a plan that would put their former master Vaati, and perhaps even the Demon King, Ganondorf, to shame.

-x-

"So what were you talking about earlier? What did you see in the throne room, Green?" Red asked his green copy. The four of them were sitting in the castle courtyard, waiting for Zelda to return from yet another meeting with the other high-ranking individuals of Hyrule, concerning the reconstruction of the land. They used to assemble quite often during the earlier days of rebuilding, but their gatherings had died down once Hyrule began to look more decent. These meetings were beginning to happen more often once more, but they were probably about adding more to the scenery of Castle Town. Perhaps they were conversing about constructing new buildings or making more flower arrangements than there had been before Vaati broke loose.

Green looked up at his three clones. "It was a small bat. It had only one eye. It certainly didn't have an eye that looked like Vaati's, so there's no need to worry about him being revived. It might have been from the Shadow World, though."

"Shadow…" murmured Blue.

"But Shadow is good now, right?" asked Red.

"He is," Vio said. "but it's always safe to stay suspicious of him. He's still a shadow, after all."

Red inclined his head. "I still think he's a good guy."

Blue stretched out his arms lazily. "Red, Red. Always so naïve." But Blue was also a bit doubtful about the bat belonging to Shadow.

"Someone must have been watching us through the bat." Vio said.

"Or watching Zelda." Green stood up. "Maybe we should wait for her outside of the meeting room. Just to make sure she's okay."

The other three nodded in agreement and rose to their feet. But just before they could depart from the courtyard, Red caught sight of something watching them. "Green, I think I see the bat that you were talking about!" He pointed at the ceiling, and just over the exit out of the courtyard, the same one-eyed bat was staring at them intently. The moment they'd all caught sight of it, the bat released its grip on the ceiling and darted into the castle.

"We have to follow it!" Green exclaimed. Already, he was charging down a hallway that curved to his left. The others chased after him, with Red lagging behind.

Green bolted through many doors, past lengthy hallways, and down large staircases by sliding down the banisters. Red complained about not being able to keep up until Blue grabbed his arm tightly and began dragging him along. The Fourswordsmen dashed past a castle maid, nearly knocking her over, but instead, sent the tall stack of folded towels she had been carrying crashing to the ground. She barely had time to hear the apology that Green shouted back to her as he rounded the corner into yet another corridor. It was through this specific corridor that the shadowy bat ducked into the entrance of the uninhabited ballroom. Green nearly tripped over his own two feet as he swiftly changed course and dashed into the ballroom after it. Blue rounded the corner just in time to see the end of Green's long hat disappearing behind the opened double doors. "He went this way!" he shouted to the others, finally releasing the tight grip he'd had on Red's arm.

The bat fled towards the back of the ballroom, but in here, there were no windows, no open doors, and over all, no possible exits for the scrawny thing, aside from the double doors from which it had entered, which were now being blocked off by Green's other clones. It turned around and faced Green, waving its wings frantically.

"It's trapped!" Green shouted back to the others. "Now all we have to do is bring it down and see what it knows!" Green reached into his back pocket and brought out his boomerang. Still running towards the bat, he brought his arm back as far as it would go and was just about to unleash his weapon when….

"Wah… WAAAAAAAAH!"

"Green!" his clones shouted in unison. Their leader was wobbling, as if trying to keep his balance before falling into a pit. Blue rushed over to Green and grabbed hold of his waist, trying to pull him back. But by then, Green had already hopelessly lost his balance, and Red and Vio watched in amazement as their other two clones wobbled and then fell literally _into _the floor.

"BLUE! GREEN!" Red shouted. He ran towards the part of the floor where they'd fallen through, but Vio grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back.

"Red, be careful! This is obviously a trap." Vio reached behind his back, pulled out his bow and arrow, and brought down the fluttering bat in a single shot. "You go check if the princess is alright. I'll see what I can do about Green and Blue."

Red nodded frantically and raced out of the ballroom.

Vio paced over to the edge of the invisible hole that had consumed his two teammates, keeping a safe distance. "You guys! Can you hear me?" he shouted to it. Very faintly, a pair of voices called back up to him, but they were both too faint to be identified as either belonging to Green and Blue or not. Vio fell to his knees, trying to make sense out of the faint yelling. "I can't hear a thing you're saying… I'm going to reach down into the vortex. If you see my hand, grab it and I'll pull either one of you out!" Vio then watched the bizarre sight of lowering his own left arm into the seemingly solid floor. It was disappearing before his eyes, until it looked like there was nothing beyond his shoulder. Vio could only feel cold air on the other side of the vortex. Unnervingly cold. It ran chills up his spine, until Vio decided against yanking the other two out of this strange portal. But before he could pull his arm out of the floor, an icy hand grabbed onto him with surprising force. Vio knew right away that this hand didn't belong to either of his friends, and he tried to shake it off. But to his dismay, he felt another, and yet another hand dig into his flesh. He struggled against the yanking, but was quickly overpowered by the opposing forces. Knowing that he was doomed anyway, Vio allowed the unknown beings to drag him into the invisible vortex, praying that Red and the princess were safe.

To the side, the single-eyed bat shook itself into consciousness. Vio hadn't shot it in the wing, only in its tiny torso. Struggling, the winged creature forced itself into the air, the large, stabbing arrow falling out of it, leaving a gapping wound of black blood flowing out. The bat was dying, but it had just enough time to track down that red clone. As long as it could still see, as long as its precious eye wasn't damaged, Master Shadow would be able to assist it from the Shadow World. The bat weakly glided out of the ballroom, knowing exactly where the red clone was headed.

At the same time, Red was rushing up yet another staircase, nearly tripping over the last step. He was horribly out of breath, and the idea of very briefly visiting the kitchen for a glass of water tempted him. But Red was determined to make sure that Zelda was alright. She was at the meeting, probably surrounded by powerful people. But no form of government power would be able to protect her from what might be scheming against her at this very moment. With this in mind, Red rushed past the kitchen without a second thought, unaware of the weary bat that had finally caught up to him.

When Red had finally made it to the meeting room, he wondered whether or not simply inviting himself in would be too rude. Fortunately, he didn't have to answer this question because the huge doors that housed the meeting were locked firmly from the inside. A bit worried, Red leaned against the doors, pressing his ear against the polished ebony wood. He could hear nothing. No signs of struggling, but no signs of life, either. Red was holding his breath, straining to hear even the smallest squeak from behind the double doors. He managed to just faintly identify the voice of an unknown speaker. For a split second, it sounded like it might have belonged to Vio, until the speaker let out an arid cough, the same way the Royal Archivist normally would. The archivist was probably trying to get support for the idea of constructing new libraries. The sound of his voice was followed by the relieving sound of Zelda speaking. Sure enough, she was safe.

Red let out a tired sigh, sinking to the floor next to the doors. How long had the castle been so _big? _He'd never run such a great distance in such little time before. But Zelda was unharmed, and that was all that mattered. But… what about Green and…?

Red let out a started yelp as he could feel the floor disappear underneath him. _Did the floor give out..? _He wondered, barely caring enough to hear his own thoughts. Realizing that he was falling intothe floor the same way Blue and Green had, Red tried to grab onto something - anything - that would save him. He was able to cling onto a portion of the carpet that hadn't yet been turned into an invisible vortex. It was like holding on for dear life to the side of a cliff, when in reality, he was sinking into the ground, trying to keep everything above his shoulders from being submerged.

His fingers were slipping. His chin could feel the icy coldness that awaited him on the other side of the portal. "Somebody! HELP ME!" he called, scanning the corridors that surrounded him for any maids or castle guards that could pull him out. Red saw no one, but his eyes finally caught sight of the one-eyed bat that was hanging upside down from the ceiling, watching his struggle. The bat blinked down at Red, perhaps taunting him. Red could feel the vortex growing in size and approaching the part of the carpet where he was clutching, fighting to stay above the ground. Red pawed at the floor, attempting to buy himself more time, but his fingers only slipped and he fell deeper into the vortex. He gave out one last cry for help as the floor began to fade beneath his grasping fingertips like grains of sand being eroded away. The portal opened its gaping mouth wider until the red clone lost his grip and fell into its jaws.

Red could feel himself falling into the darkness. This eerie atmosphere… He'd only encountered it once, and that was at the zenith of his last adventure. The Sky Tall Tower. Was he perhaps going back there? Falling back through time? Or maybe this place… this portal… was far worse…

The double doors into the meeting room reopened. "I thought I heard a voice." Princess Zelda said back to the high-ranking individuals who eyed her quizzically. Zelda scanned the halls. No one was there, although she could of sworn she'd heard someone calling so desperately for help not too long ago. The worst part was, she'd recognized the voice. Though Link and his clones were all the same person, to her, they all sounded like their own separate selves. And if anything, Red Link's voice was the easiest to identify. The sound of his voice reminded her of a tiny soap bubble for some reason: Just so innocent, and floating around wherever it pleased. And this little bubble of a voice was certainly the one she'd heard not too long ago. Did something happen to him? Maybe it would be wise to have a castle guard make sure that all four of the Links were still relaxing in the courtyard…

"Your Highness?" called the Royal Archivist.

She didn't glance over her shoulder at him. She only stared out into the empty corridors. "I'm sorry, I just got a little worried. And, Guard?"

The castle guard nearest to her jumped to attention. His eyes had been drooping a few seconds ago, and for a few moments, he could have sworn he'd heard the sound of gentle winds across a grassy field… "Y-yes, Princess Zelda…?"

"Please do a quick scan of the courtyard and make sure that Link and his friends are still there."

"R-right away, Zelda… I MEAN _Princess_ Zelda! Yes, that's what I meant to say…!" He was clearly a new recruit.

Zelda reached for the large handlebars of the double doors. She doubted that anything bad had happened to her friends, but the desperation of that crying voice she'd heard concerned her greatly. Was she only hearing things? Maybe the slow speed of the meeting was making her tired and she'd dreamt it all. Yes, that was it. And when she returned to the courtyard in a few more hours and met up with Link and his three clones, they'd ask her why a guard had been ordered to check up on them, and she'd just laugh about it. Yes, it was only a dream. Just a silly little fantasy that had fixed itself into her mind after talking so much about the death and terror that had struck Hyrule six months ago, earlier in the meeting…

The princess quickly disregarded this conclusion when she jumped back cautiously as a frail, shadowy bat fell dead from the ceiling, its corpse landing just inches away from her feet.


	3. Chapter 3

Yay! The noble third chapter is here! And sorry for the long update time. This isn't the only project I'm working on at the moment…

**I do not own the Legend of Zelda. LoZ is a property of Nintendo, and the Fourswords Plus Manga belongs to Himekawa Akira. Only the OC's and the plot belong to me.**

**Chapter Three**

Blue shook the dizziness out of his head and quickly jumped to his feet. "So glad you could join us." Vio said to him.

"How come neither of you guys were unconscious?" Blue demanded sharply, afraid that the sight of him blacking out so easily would make him look inferior.

"Because we didn't fall flat on our heads." Green said.

Blue was about to impulsively resort to his Foursword until he took in his surroundings. Dark, purple sky… hard, grey soil… twisted trees… bone-chilling atmosphere… where was this? Some kind of wooded area? It didn't even look like he was in Hyrule anymore. The Lost Woods looked a lot more welcoming than this…

Before Blue could ask, Vio said, "If you were wondering where we are, neither Green nor I can figure it out, although the Shadow World seems like a plausible candidate."

"Then how the heck do we get out?" Blue kicked the lifeless soil. Each grain of dirt looked almost… sinister.

"Green attempted to find an exit already, but he would always end up back here."

"Yeah, watch this." Green bulleted past Blue, venturing deeper and deeper into the woods, until the eerie aura within the withered trees hid him from view. No sooner had he disappeared did Green reappear, pulling himself out of the tattered bushes behind Vio. He returned to the others, yanking a twig out of his hair. "If you leave through one end of this clearing, you always end up back here through some other end."

For no reason, Blue grew frustrated in a matter of seconds. "What kind of possessed fun house is this! And why bring us here? What is this? Some kind of joke? Because I'm not laughing! I swear, the moment I figure out who's behind this, I'm going to… Where the heck is Red, anyway…?"

As if on cue, a swirling vortex opened up in the air above Blue, and the flailing Red Link tumbled out, collapsing on his blue counterpart.

"He's on top of you." smirked Vio.

"Thanks, that was my next guess." grumbled Blue from underneath Red.

Red looked up at Green and Vio. "Oh! You guys are okay! I thought for sure I'd never see any of you guys again!" He looked down at what he was sitting on. "Whoops! Did I land on you, Blue? I'm sorry, I just-."

"If you were really sorry, then you'd GET OFF OF ME!"

Red stumbled away as Blue climbed back onto his feet and began to dust himself off.

There was a dark chuckle from somewhere, and everyone froze. "Blue, you really are a joke, aren't you?"

Blue defensively pulled out his sword in a quick motion. "Why don't you battle me and see for yourself? And who are you, anyway?" He glanced around.

"I'd recognize that voice anywhere…" Vio spoke emotionlessly. He looked up at the sky and the others followed his gaze.

Atop one of the lifeless trees, the dark figure of Shadow Link could be seen standing upon one of its branches. His arms were crossed and he leaned against the trunk of the tree casually. "Me? Battle you, Blue? Heh, might I remind you of what happened the first time you got on my bad side?"

Blue lowered his sword. "Somehow I knew you were the one behind this. Even after you helped us out in the Sky Tall Tower, I still suspected you."

"Isn't that sweet, you bothered to think of me! But, did you bother to think of me while you were all out having fun in the Light World? Or was all of the glory from being deemed as 'heroes' clouding your thoughts?"

Green raised a brow. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Shadow disappeared from his perch on the tree and reappeared on the ground right in front of them. "Nothing that any of you would understand or have ever felt before. You're all so used to having each other. You can relax because you've got three others on your side most of the time."

"Are you lonely, Shadow?" Red asked so casually that Green and the others turned to look at him. Red usually never spoke directly to Shadow in the past. But the look on his face was so kind and open-minded, that the causality in his voice made it sound like he was speaking to an old friend, rather than trying to get Shadow angered.

The dark clone of Link glared at him. "Not lonely. You could say… outnumbered. Bored. In need of a little action in his life."

"What are you saying?" Green growled, already reaching for his sword.

"Oh, do you really have to be so defensive all the time, Green? I only wanted to introduce you to my friends."

Green and his clones stared at each other quizzically. "Friends?" They all said in unison.

Shadow smirked. "What's with the skeptical looks? Shadows can have friends too, you know."

On cue, Fuchsia and Yellow both hopped down from the trees they'd been watching the scene from, Yellow giving a polite bow while Fuchsia cracked his knuckles, glaring intensely at the Red Link for some reason. Albi teleported lastly besides his clones the same way Shadow had entered the clearing. The four of them united, they cast vain, challenging glances at the rival team across from them. "We're the Dark Fourswordsmen!" declared Shadow. Fuchsia and Yellow gave proud cries while Albi only nodded lightly.

Blue blinked once and reached up to rub his eyes. "Shadow… has clones now…?"

"Of course I do, are you that thickheaded?" Shadow wielded his sword and gave it a twirl. "It's all thanks to the Dark Foursword."

"Dark Foursword?" Green looked down at his own blade which had a small green gem engraved within it.

"So there really is a negative form of everything in the Light World within the Shadow Realm…" Vio murmured. "I read about it once, but I never suspected that there really would exist a darker version of something as sacred as the Foursword."

"You're just being ignorant." Yellow said, grinning smugly at Vio. Even Blue had to wonder how conceited someone had to be to call Vio ignorant.

Red met eyes with Shadow. "So now that you have your own clones… you're happy, right? Just like the four of us-."

Fuchsia shouted, "WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID!" and proceeded to swipe up a pebble from the lifeless ground and hurl it at Red, who could only give a meek "Owie!" when it hit him on the forehead. And before Fuchsia could burst into yet another one of his anger spasms, Shadow yanked him back by the shoulder and said, "Relax, we can't fight with them yet."

"Yet?" Green tightened his grip on his sword. "What are you planning, Shadow? And what's with the clones?"

"He told you, we were just bored, is all." Yellow shrugged.

"And we're not planning anything." Shadow spoke so kindly, it was almost nerve-racking. "We just wanted to have a little competition. A game, if you will."

"A game?" Blue stiffened. "I already don't like where this is going."

Shadow smirked at his uneasiness. "Just let me explain it really quick: It'll be a simple little race, my clones verses your clones, Green. We'll be divided into four different groups, and each group will consist of one of my teammates and one of yours. To make things fair, each group will be thrown into random sectors that neither player has ventured in before, and the two battle and strategize against each other to see who can finish the race first. Did I lose any of you, or were you all smart enough to listen to me?"

Green shook his head. "There's a catch. There has to be a catch to this."

Shadow put up his hands defensively. "There is no catch! My clones and I were just curious to find out whose team of copies is the most superior, that's all."

"And what if we refuse to play this game of yours?" Vio asked.

"Then it'll be considered a forfeit and we automatically win the prize!" Yellow said.

"There's a prize involved?" This time, Blue was asking the question.

Fuchsia rolled his eyes. "What? Did you think this was one of those 'everyone's-a-winner' gigs? OF COURSE there's a prize. Games are no fun otherwise."

"What's the prize?" Red questioned.

"If you-."

"It's a SECRET prize." Fuchsia said, cutting off Albi.

"That only makes us more suspicious." Vio said as he crossed his arms.

Shadow shrugged. "If you don't want to play, then you can forfeit. Simple as that. But you'll never find out what the prize is if you do."

"Look, we don't want to play your stupid - OWOWOW!" Blue was pulled by his ear to the side as the four of them formed a huddle. Shadow and his own clones grinned vilely, knowing what this meant.

"Green, don't tell me that you're actually falling for their trap?" Blue grumbled just as Red and Vio joined the conversation.

"I know that there's something up with these guys, but it's this prize that really concerns me."

"So now you're the greedy one?"

"No, I just have a bad feeling about it. What if the prize is something that isn't good?"

"Then why would you want to win something like that?"

"I'm only suggesting that it could be something that can be used against the losing team. I mean, what if this 'prize' is the right to the losing team's Fourswords? Do you know what could happen if we let our swords fall into the wrong hands? It could be catastrophic! They could try to unleash Vaati again! They could even attempt to revive that Demon King… You have to consider things like this, since they're so willing to let us forfeit. Us forfeiting would only make things easier for them."

"Green has a point." Vio said. "The only thing is, if it's as simple as making us forfeit, why don't they just take the 'prize' right away? Making a game out of it seems like too much of a hassle. They were able to pull us into the Shadow World, so couldn't they just take what they want?"

"They're probably messing with our minds." Green said.

"Or maybe they wanted to trick us into playing this game of theirs." Blue suggested. "Maybe there is no prize! What if the real trap is in the game itself? What if it's rigged-?"

"This is making my head hurt…" Red whined.

"Are you cuccos quite DONE YET?" Fuchsia called out.

Green sighed. "So let's take a vote. We have to consider all of these circumstances. Blue, should we forfeit or play along with them?"

Blue said, "Forfeit, of course. They made the game and I don't trust them one bit."

Green turned to Vio. "You?"

"Even though they designed the game, there are still the slight odds of winning. Therefore, I am only slightly biased towards the idea of playing along with them."

Green looked down at his feet. "Well I've already made my decision, but before I say anything, I want to know whether or not this'll be a tie. Red, what do you think?"

Red gulped, seeing both Blue and Vio turn their heads towards him. "I… um… well… shouldn't Green…?"

"Just pick something!" Blue demanded. Shortly afterwards, Yellow could be heard yawning noisily.

"I… I… I guess… perhaps… maybe… I should go with… Vio's opinion…? I'm sorry, Blue…"

Blue turned to Green. "Tell me there was a tie."

"Unfortunately, there wasn't." Green pulled away from the huddle and the group disassembled with Blue mumbling something inaudible to the side. "We accept your challenge." Green said to Shadow.

Shadow grinned. "Glad you see things our way. The race itself shouldn't be too time-consuming. It'll last about five days at the least."

Green and his clones gawked. "FIVE DAYS!"

Yellow giggled. "You can all relax. Though days may pass here in this sub-dimension of the Shadow World, when you return back to your own world, it'll be as if you were gone for only a minute."

Vio narrowed his eyes. "Sub-dimension…?"

Yellow blushed a little bit. "Um… shouldn't we begin now, Shadow…?"

Shadow nodded. "Since we're both the obvious leaders of our groups, I pick Green as my opponent for this race."

"I accept your invitation." Green said. Both he and Shadow glowered at one another, an uncomfortable cloud of abhorrence rose between the two.

"C'mon Shadow, you've gotta let me beat up the red one!" Fuchsia demanded. His nostrils seemed to be flaring with his apparent distaste towards the docile red rival.

Red stepped back several paces. "M-me…?"

"No, I'm talking about the orange gentleman that's standing behind you… OF COURSE I MEANT YOU!"

Blue stepped defensively in front of Red. "Let me take on this guy. He looks all muscle and no brains."

"Actually," said Shadow. "pitting Fuchsia against Red sounds rather interesting. If you really want to Fuchsia, then go on ahead."

"Fuchsia?" Red said. "He looks more pink to me."

The anger in Fuchsia's eye became less obvious, as if it were a fire and Red had doused it with water. "I swear, Red, if you even BEGIN with that crap…"

Red only tilted his head to the side, not knowing what he was talking about.

Yellow hopped up and down. "I want to pick now! I thought really hard about it, and I want to go against Vi-!"

"I challenge that guy!" Blue thrust a finger in Yellow's direction.

Yellow froze. "Hm? Me? But… why me?"

This time, it was Blue's turn to grin mysteriously. "I don't know. You just seem to remind me of a certain someone. And on top of that, you really tick me off. I could use a good punching bag." He swung his sword a few times before he sheathed it in a swift, almost invisible motion.

Yellow stared curiously at this performance, eyes twinkling with what gruesome ideas they might be concealing. He then giggled. "Do you really want to challenge me? I must warn you, you don't know what you are asking for!"

Blue only laughed. "Actually, I think I do. And right now, I'm asking to challenge you."

"Well, then I accept!" Yellow gave another polite bow and continued to give a sunny smile to the world. But within his head, he laughed darkly: I knew it. I knew that if I gave the right impression, that Blue Link would challenge me. He went right on ahead and took the bait, and now I've got him all to myself for the next five days. He should be easy to defeat… but oh, once I get my revenge… Once… I… get… my revenge… Then we'll see who is only a shadow to the rest of the world… Eeheeheeheehee… Yellow laughed quietly to himself, and only Albi heard it.

Albi's eyes suddenly met with Vio's. "I suppose that leaves us together." said the violet clone.

Albi lowered his glance quickly, focusing on a weirdly shaped pebble on the ground. The pebble was sharply pointed at one end. Sharp like a piercing that ached in his heart… "I-I suppose it does. Um… but I… just wanted to-."

"Can we start NOW, Shadow?" Fuchsia nudged the darkly clothed version of himself in the arm.

"Very well. The first team to have three or more of its members cross the finish line with their swords fully charged with Force wins."

"What if there's a tie?" Blue asked.

"Then the prize simply goes to the team who collected the largest sum of Force." Yellow answered. "But there's no need to worry about a situation like that. There won't be a tie…" Shadow and his clones snickered at this while Green and his clones stared nervously at one another, wondering what they'd gotten themselves into.

"I suppose now would be a good time to begin the race." Shadow said as he drew his blade, his clones doing the same. "May the best team win." The four of them pointed their swords at the rivals they'd been partnered with, and their weapons began to gleam.

Green could suddenly feel himself growing more distant from his own clones. He looked in their direction. They were growing smaller, their silhouettes becoming one with the impending darkness that awaited each one of them. Had they really done the right thing by accepting the challenge to play this unknown game with Shadow and his clones? Perhaps Blue had been right. What if this prize was all a myth? And what if, no matter what they did, the Dark Fourswordsmen would always have them right where they wanted them? Green took all of these things into consideration as he allowed himself to be enveloped by the blinding cloak of shadows. He only hoped that Red, Blue, and Vio were feeling a lot more confident in themselves than he was.


End file.
